The General View of the Day of Judgment--Is it
Scriptural?--The Terms, Judgment and Day, Defined--Several
Judgment Days Referred to in the Scriptures--The First Judgment
Day and its Results--Another Appointed --The Judge--The Character
of the Coming Judgment--Similarity and Dissimilarity of the First
and Second Judgments--The World's Present Accountability--Two
Intervening Judgments and Their Objects--Widely Different
Estimates of the Coming Judgment-- How Prophets and Apostles
Viewed it.

"GOD hath appointed a day in which he will judge the
world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained"
--"Jesus Christ, the righteous." "For the Father
judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the
Son." `Acts 17:31`; `1 John 2:1`; `John 5:22`
A very vague and indefinite idea prevails in regard
to the day of judgment. The view generally entertained is that
Christ will come to earth, seated upon a great white throne, and
that he will summon saint and sinner in rank and file before him
to be judged, amidst great convulsions of nature --earthquakes,
opening graves, rending rocks and falling mountains; that the
trembling sinners will be brought from the depths of everlasting
woe to hear their sins rehearsed, only to be again returned to an
eternal and merciless doom; and that the saints will be brought
from heaven to witness the misery and despair of the condemned,
to hear again the decision in their own cases, and to return.
According to the prevailing theory, all receive their sentence
and reward at death; and this, which by way of distinction is
commonly called the general judgment, is merely a repetition

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of that first judgment, but for no conceivable purpose, since
they claim that a decision which is final and unalterable is
rendered at death.
The entire time supposed to be assigned to this
stupendous work of judging billions is a twenty-four hour day. A
discourse recently delivered to a Brooklyn congregation voiced
the general view on this subject. It affected to give a detailed
account of the work of the Day of Judgment, representing it as
completed within the limits of a single literal day.
This is a very crude conception, and is entirely out
of harmony with the inspired Word. It is drawn from a too literal
interpretation of our Lord's parable of the sheep and the goats.
(`Matt. 25:31-46`) It illustrates the absurdity of attempting to
force a literal interpretation upon figurative language. A
parable is never an exact statement, but merely an illustration
of a truth by something which is in many respects like it. If
this parable were a literal statement of the manner in which the
judgment will be conducted, it would apply to literal sheep and
goats, just as it reads, and not to mankind at all. Let us now
look at a more Scriptural as well as a more reasonable view of
the work and the result of the great Judgment Day which God hath
appointed, with which reasonable and Scriptural conclusions all
parables and figures should and do agree.
The term judgment signifies more than
simply the rendering of a verdict. It includes the idea of a
trial, as well as a decision based upon that trial. And this is
true not only of the English word judgment, but also of the Greek
word which it translates.
The term day, both in the Scriptures and in
common usage, though most frequently used to represent a period
of twelve or twenty-four hours, really signifies any definite or
special period of time. Thus, for instance, we speak of

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Noah's day, Luther's day, Washington's day; and thus in the Bible
the entire time of creation is called a day, where we read of
"the day that Jehovah God made the earth and the
heavens" (`Gen. 2:4`)--a long, definite period. Then we read
of "the day of temptation in the wilderness"--forty
years (`Heb. 3:8,9`); "the day of salvation" (`2 Cor.
6:2`); also the "day of vengeance," "day of
wrath" and "day of trouble"--terms applied to a
period of forty years in the close of the Jewish age, and to a
similar period of trouble in the end of the Gospel age. Then
again we read of the "day of Christ," the "day of
judgment," and "his day"--terms applicable to the
Millennial age, in which Messiah will reign over, rule and judge
the world in righteousness, granting trial as well as rendering
sentence. And of that period it is written: He shall judge the
world in righteousness, and in his day shall show who is that
blessed and only potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords.
(`Acts 17:31`; `1 Tim. 6:15`) Why any should suppose this day of
judgment to be of but twelve or twenty-four hours, while
recognizing the wider meaning of the word day in other
similar cases, is beyond comprehension, except upon the
supposition that they have been influenced by tradition, without
proper evidence or investigation.
Those who will carefully consult a complete
concordance of the Bible with reference to the Day of Judgment,
and note the kind and amount of work to be accomplished within
that period, will soon see the absurdity of the common view, and
the necessity for giving to the term day its wider
significance.
While the Scriptures speak of a great judgment or
trial day yet future, and show that the masses of mankind are to
have their complete trial and final sentence in that day, they
also teach that there have been other judgment days, during which
certain elect classes have been on trial.

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The first great judgment [trial and sentence] was at
the beginning, in Eden, when the whole human race, as represented
in its head, Adam, stood on trial before God. The result of that
trial was the verdict--Guilty, disobedient, unworthy of life; and
the penalty inflicted was death--"Dying thou shalt
die." (`Gen. 2:17`, margin) And so "In Adam all
die." That trial time in Eden was the world's first judgment
day, and the decision of the Judge (Jehovah) has ever since been
enforced.
"The wrath of God is revealed from
heaven against all unrighteousness." It may be seen in every
funeral procession. Every tomb is a witness to it. It is felt in
every ache and pain we experience--all of which are results of
the first trial and sentence--the righteous sentence of God, that
we are unworthy of life and the blessings originally provided for
man when obedient and in God's likeness. But mankind are to be
recovered from the sentence of that first trial by the one
sacrifice for all, which the great Redeemer provides. All are to
be rescued from the grave and from the sentence of
death--destruction--which in view of this redemption is no longer
to be considered death in the full, everlasting sense of the
word, but rather a temporary sleep; because in the Millennial
morning all will be awakened by the Life-giver who redeemed all.
Only the Church of believers in Christ are yet in any sense
released or "escaped" from this original sentence and
penalty; and their escape is not yet actual, but only so
reckoned by faith. "We are saved by hope"
only. Our actual release from this death penalty (incurred in
Adam and escaped from by getting into Christ) will not be fully
experienced until the resurrection morning, when we shall be
satisfied to awake in our Redeemer's likeness. But the fact that
we who have come to a knowledge of God's gracious plan in Christ
"have escaped the corruption that is [still]

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on the world," so far from proving that others will have no
future hope of escape, proves rather the contrary of this; for we
are first-fruits unto God of his creatures. Our escape from death
in Adam to life in Christ is but a foretaste of the deliverance
of whosoever wills to be delivered from the bondage of corruption
[death] to the liberty of life proper to all whom God shall
recognize as sons. All who will may be delivered from death to
life, regardless of the distinctions of nature God has provided
for his sons on different planes of being. The Gospel age is the
trial-day for life or death to those called to the divine nature.
But God has appointed a day, in which he will judge
the world. How can this be? Has God changed his mind? Has he
concluded that his decision in the trial of the first man and the
general sentence were unjust, too severe, that he now concludes
to judge the world individually? No; were such the case, we
should have no better guarantee of a just decision in the future
trial than in the past. It is not that God considers his decision
in the first judgment unjust, but that he has provided a redemption
from the penalty of the first judgment, in order that he may
grant another judgment (trial) under more favorable conditions to
the entire race--all having then had experience with sin and its
results. God has not changed one iota from his original purpose,
which he formed before the world began. He distinctly informs us
that he changes not, and that he will by no means clear the
guilty. He will exact the full penalty which he justly
pronounced. And that full penalty has been provided by the
Redeemer or substitute whom God himself provided--Jesus Christ,
who, "by the grace [favor] of God, tasted death for every
man." Our Lord having provided a ransom for Adam's race,
with his own life, can justly give a new offer of life to them
all. This offer to the Church is under

::page 142::the Covenant of sacrifice (`Psa. 50:5`; `Rom.
12:1`): to the world it will be under the New Covenant. `Rom.
14:9`; `Heb. 10:16`; `Jer. 31:31`
We are further informed that when God gives the
world this individual trial, it will be under Christ as Judge,
whom Jehovah will thus honor because of his obedience even unto
death for our redemption. God has highly exalted him, even to the
divine nature, that he may be a Prince and a Savior (`Acts
5:31`), that he may be able to recover from death and grant
judgment to all whom he purchased with his own precious blood.
God has committed all judgment unto the Son, and has given him
all power in heaven and in earth. `John 5:22`
It is, then, the highly exalted, glorified Christ,
who so loved the world as to give his life as its ransom-price,
who is to be the Judge of the world in its promised future trial.
And it is Jehovah himself who has appointed him to that office,
for that very purpose. Since such are the plain declarations of
the Scriptures, there is nothing to dread, but on the contrary
there is great cause for rejoicing on the part of all, in looking
forward to the Judgment Day. The character of the Judge is a
sufficient guarantee that the judgment will be just and merciful,
and with due consideration for the infirmities of all, until the
willing and obedient are brought back to the original perfection
lost in Eden.
A judge, in ancient times, was one who executed
justice and relieved the oppressed. Note, for instance, how, when
under oppression by their enemies because of transgression
against the Lord, Israel was time and again released and blessed
by the raising up of judges. Thus we read, "When the
children of Israel cried unto Jehovah, Jehovah raised up a deliverer,...Othniel.
And the spirit of Jehovah came upon him, and he judged
Israel, and went out to war, and prevailed, and the land had rest
forty years." (`Judges 3:9-11`)

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So, though the world has long been under the power and oppression
of the adversary, Satan, yet shortly he who pays for the sins of
all with his own precious blood will take his great power and
reign. He will deliver and judge those whom he
so loved as to redeem.
With this conclusion all the prophetic
declarations agree. It is written: "With righteousness shall
he judge the world, and the people with equity." `Psa. 98:9`
This coming judgment will be on exactly the same
principles as the first. The same law of obedience will be
presented, with the same reward of life, and the same penalty of
death. And as the first trial had a beginning, progressed, and
culminated with a sentence, so also will the second; and the
sentence will be life to the righteous, and death to the
unrighteous. The second trial will be more favorable than the
first, because of the experience gained under the results of the
first trial. Unlike the first trial, the second trial will be one
in which every man will stand the test for himself alone, and not
for another. None will then die because of Adam's sin, or because
of inherited imperfections. It shall no more be said, "The
fathers have eaten a sour grape and the children's teeth are set
on edge; but he that eateth the sourgrape, his
teeth shall be set on edge." "The soul that sinneth, it
shall die." (`Ezek. 18:4`; `Jer. 31:29,30`) And it will be
true of the world then, as it is of the Church now, that a man
will not be judged according to that which he hath not, but
according to that which he hath. (`2 Cor. 8:12`) Under the reign
of Christ, mankind will be gradually educated, trained and
disciplined until they reach perfection. And when they have
reached perfection, perfect harmony with God will be required,
and any who then fall short of perfect obedience will be cut off,
being judged unworthy of life. The sin which brought death to the
race through Adam was simply one disobedient act; but by that act
he fell from

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his perfection. God had a right to demand perfect obedience of
him, since he was created perfect; and he will demand the same of
all men when the great work of restoring them is complete. None
will be permitted to have everlasting life who then in the
slightest degree fall short of perfection. To fall short of
perfection, then, will be to sin wilfully against full light and
perfect ability.
Any who sin wilfully, against full light and
ability, will perish in the second death. And should any one,
during that age of trial, under its full blaze of light, spurn
the offered favors, and make no progress toward perfection for a
hundred years, he will be reckoned unworthy of life and will be
"cut off," though at a hundred years he would be in the
period of comparative childhood. Thus it is written of that day:
"As a lad shall one die a hundred years old; and as a sinner
shall be accursed he who dieth at a hundred years old."
(`Isa. 65:20`--Leeser) Thus all must have at least one
hundred years of trial; and, if not so obstinate as to refuse to
make progress, their trial will continue throughout the entire
day of Christ, reaching a culmination only at its close.
The conclusion of the world's coming judgment is
clearly shown in the parable of the sheep and the goats (`Matt.
25:31-46`), in `Rev. 20:15; 21:8` and in `1 Cor. 15:25`. These
and other scriptures show that at its close the two classes will
have been completely separated--the obedient and the disobedient;
those in harmony with the letter and the spirit of God's law, and
those out of harmony with it. They enter into everlasting life,
and the others are remanded to death, extinction ("second
death"), the same sentence as in the first judgment, from
which they had been reckonedly released by Christ who secured the
right to release them by the giving of their ransom--by his
death. This will be their second death. No ransom will be given
for them, and there will be no release or resurrection for them,
their sin being a

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wilful, individual sin against full light and opportunity, under
a most favorable, individual trial.
We do not wish to be understood as ignoring the
present responsibility of the world, which every man has,
according to the measure of light enjoyed, whether it be much or
little, whether it be the light of nature or of revelation.
"The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil
and the good," and "God shall bring every work into
judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether
it be evil." (`Prov. 15:3`; `Eccl. 12:14`) The good and the
evil deeds of the present time will receive a just
recompense of reward either now or hereafter. "Some men's
sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment, and some they
follow after." (`1 Tim. 5:24`) No others than the Lord's
favored "little flock" have as yet sufficient light to
incur the final penalty, the second death. We here merely broach
the subject of the world's present accountability, leaving the
particulars for subsequent consideration.
A period of about six thousand years intervenes
between the world's first and second judgment days, and during
this long period God has been selecting two special classes from
among men, and specially trying, disciplining and training them
to be his honored instruments during the period or day of the
world's judgment.
These two classes are respectively designated by
Paul (`Heb. 3:5,6`) as the house of sons and the house of
servants, the former being composed of those overcomers tried and
found faithful during the Christian dispensation, and the latter
being composed of the faithful overcomers who preceded the
Christian dispensation. These special selections in no sense
interfere with the judgment or trial promised to the world of
mankind in the age to follow this Gospel Dispensation. Those who
successfully pass the trial for either of these special classes
will not come into judgment with the world, but will enter upon
their reward when the world is

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coming into judgment. They will be God's agents in the blessing
of the world--in giving to men the instruction and training
necessary for their final testing and judgment. "Do ye not
know that the saints shall judge the world?" `1 Cor. 6:2`
These specially selected classes, like the rest of
mankind, were once under the Adamic condemnation, but became
sharers by faith in the benefits of Christ's death. After being
first justified by faith in God's promises, and having then
fulfilled the subsequent conditions of their respective callings,
they are accounted worthy of high exaltation to stations of honor
and authority.
The trial or judgment of both these classes has been
much more severe than the trial of the world will be in its
judgment day; because these have had to withstand Satan, the
prince of this world, with all his wiles and ensnarements, while
in the world's judgment day Christ will be reigning, and Satan
will be bound, that he may not deceive the nations. (`Rev. 20:3`)
These have suffered persecution for righteousness' sake, while
then men will be rewarded for righteousness, and punished only
for unrighteousness. These have had great stumbling blocks and
snares in the way, which will be removed when the world is placed
on trial. But though the trial of these two special companies has
been much more severe than the trial of the world will be, the
rewards are correspondingly greater.
Under the sophistries of the great deceiver, Satan,
both the world and the Church nominal have been robbed of the
blessed assurances of the coming time of righteous judgment. They
know that the Bible tells of a coming judgment day, but they
regard it with only fear and dread; and because of this fear,
there is to them no more unwelcome tidings than that the day of
the Lord is at hand. They put it far away from them, and do not
wish to hear it even mentioned.

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They have no idea of the blessings in store for the world under
that glorious reign of him whom God hath appointed to judge the
world in righteousness. Among the greatest of the blinding
influences which Satan has devised to keep men in ignorance of
the truth regarding the judgment day have been the errors which
have crept into the creeds and hymn books of the various
religious sects. Many have come to esteem these errors as of
paramount importance to the Word of God.
How differently did the prophets and apostles regard
that promised day of judgment! Note the exultant prophetic
utterance of David (`1 Chron. 16:31-34`). He says:

"Let the heavens be glad,
And let the earth rejoice;
And let men say among the nations, Jehovah reigneth.
Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof;
Let the fields rejoice, and all that are therein.
Then shall the trees of the wood sing aloud
At the presence of Jehovah,
BECAUSE HE COMETH
TO JUDGE THE EARTH.
O give thanks unto Jehovah, for he is good;
For his mercy endureth forever."

To the same day the Apostle also points, assuring
us that it will be a glorious and desirable day, and that for it
the whole creation is groaning and travailing in pain together
--waiting for the great Judge to deliver and to bless the world,
as well as to exalt and glorify the Church. `Rom. 8:21,22`
In `John 5:28,29` a precious promise for the world
of a coming judgment-trial for life everlasting is, by a
mistranslation, turned into a fearful imprecation. According to
the Greek, they that have done evil--that have failed of divine
approval--will come forth unto resurrection [raising up to
perfection] by judgments, "stripes," disciplines. See
the Revised Version.

::page 148::

Afterward

"God's ways are equal: storm or calm,
Seasons of peril and of rest,
The hurting dart, the healing balm,
Are all apportioned as is best.
In judgments oft misunderstood,
In ways mysterious and obscure,
He brings from evil lasting good,
And makes the final gladness sure.
While Justice takes its course with strength,
Love bids our faith and hope increase:
He'll give the chastened world at length
His afterward of peace.

"When the dread forces of the gale
His sterner purposes perform,
And human skill can naught avail
Against the fury of the storm,
Let loving hearts trust in him still,
Through all the dark and devious way;
For who would thwart his blessed will,
Which leads through night to joyous day?
Be still beneath his tender care;
For he will make the tempest cease,
And bring from out the anguish here
An afterward of peace.

"Look up, O Earth; no storm can last
Beyond the limits God hath set.
When its appointed work is past,
In joy thou shalt thy grief forget.
Where sorrow's plowshare hath swept through,
Thy fairest flowers of life shall spring,
For God shall grant thee life anew,
And all thy wastes shall laugh and sing.
Hope thou in him; his plan for thee
Shall end in triumph and release.
Fear not, for thou shalt surely see
His afterward of peace."